Postscript by National Library of Australia

The National Library of Australia holds millions of letters in its collections: love letters, reports on scientific discoveries, impassioned pleas, newsy notes about the week that’s just been, responses from politicians to members of the electorate, letters to the editor and so many more.

We’ve made a selection of remarkable letters from those millions, and passed them on to modern Australians to write new letters, inspired by those from our collection.

The original letters may have shaped history, confessed love, covered philosophical matters like aging or creativity, or given an insight into the writers’ lives. The modern letters do the same. By turns moving, funny and challenging, this is a collection of letters that will engage and enlarge readers’ sense of empathy and may inspire them to pick up the pen themselves. This book is a testament to the particular power of a letter (or an email, fax or telegram) to shock us, to move us and to warm us.

Authors include:

• Jane Austen
• Raelene Rallah-Baker
• John Barrett
• Barbara Blackman
• Frank Bongiorno
• Neville Bonner
• David Brooks
• Norma Brooks
• Reverend John Flynn
• Kate Forsyth
• Mem Fox
• Bill Gammage
• Morris Gleitzman
• Patrick Glynn
• Daniel Gray-Barnett
• Henry Lawson
• Maggie Mackellar
• Reverend William McLeod
• Sir John Monash
• Adela Pankhurst
• Frank Reid
• Amy Remeikis
• Sita Sargeant
• Robert Skinner
• Barrina South
• Dr Ranjana Srivastava
• Kylie Tennant
• John Trigg
• Sam Wallman
• Shelley Ware
• John Ian Wing
• Michael Winkler
• Judith Wright

The National Library of Australia holds millions of letters in its collections: love letters, reports on scientific discoveries, impassioned pleas, newsy notes about the week that’s just been, responses from politicians to members of the electorate, letters to the editor and so many more.

01 May 2026
 

Postscript: Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters by National Library of Australia ISBN 9781922507747